From fear to fire: How Kohli reshaped India’s pace identity in Tests

As Virat Kohli bids adieu to Test cricket, it feels like the embers of a glorious chapter are finally being extinguished. He had played his last Test in Sydney earlier that year, but this was the official full stop to an era that redefined Indian cricket’s DNA. Though his captaincy had ended in early 2022 in Cape Town—under a cloud of controversy—Kohli remained the spiritual force of India’s red-ball team long after handing over the reins. But beyond the runs, the animated celebrations, and the intense on-field presence, Kohli leaves behind a legacy that transcends traditional metrics.

He didn’t just lead from the front with the bat. He led a revolution—one of sinew, steel and speed. He made fast bowling fashionable in India. In a land once synonymous with slow turners and wristy artistry, Kohli built a team that breathed fire through its seamers, a unit that could outgun the best in Johannesburg, torment batters in Lord’s, and knock over giants in Adelaide. The rise of India’s fearsome pace attack during his tenure was no accident—it was a vision, executed with unflinching intensity.

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Kohli’s impact on Indian cricket is unmatched

Having covered every step of Kohli’s Test captaincy from close quarters as a journalist, I can say this without hesitation: no other Indian captain has altered the country’s cricketing identity so fundamentally. In Kohli’s India, the fast bowlers didn’t just participate—they hunted.

From the moment he took over the Test reins full-time in 2015, Kohli championed the cause of quicks like few before him. Whether it was the seasoned Ishant Sharma, the ever-versatile Mohammed Shami, the crafty Bhuvneshwar Kumar or the tearaway Jasprit Bumrah—fast-tracked into the Test arena on a green seamer at Cape Town in 2018—Kohli not only backed them, he built a fortress around them. Later, Umesh Yadav would find new rhythm under Kohli’s watch, and a young Mohammed Siraj would bloom into a match-winner on the toughest tour of all—Australia.

Kohli’s teams had an unmistakable swagger. They didn’t just want to win Tests; they wanted to bully opponents into submission. Nowhere was that more evident than in India’s historic 2-1 triumph in Australia in 2018–19—India’s first-ever series win Down Under. The bowlers, led by Bumrah (21 wickets), Shami, and Ishant, outbowled and outlasted Australia’s famed attack. Kohli’s aggressive captaincy, his willingness to set attacking fields for fast bowlers even on lifeless tracks, played a huge role.

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But Kohli’s philosophy wasn’t just for overseas glory. He brought the same fire to home soil. I recall standing on the edge of the outfield at Eden Gardens in 2016, when a greenish tinge on the surface caught every journalist’s eye. It was the second Test against New Zealand, and many expected the usual turning track. Instead, India prepared a seam-friendly wicket. Kohli didn’t flinch. The seamers combined to claim 12 wickets in the match, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading the charge with a five-wicket haul in the first innings, setting the foundation for the hosts’ victory. That moment was symbolic—it told the world that India’s pacers could thrive anywhere.

It became a recurring theme. Against England at home later that year, despite spin-friendly pitches, it was the quicks—Shami and Umesh in particular—who delivered game-defining spells. It wasn’t just skill. It was an attitude. Kohli had injected that “play fire with fire” spirit into the team’s body language. I saw it again in Ranchi in 2019 against South Africa, where Indian quicks intimidated visiting batters in their own old-school style.

The numbers tell their own story. In 51 Tests under Kohli’s leadership, Indian fast bowlers took 420 wickets at an average of 26.79. No Indian captain has ever had such a weaponised fast-bowling arsenal. Overall, India conceded just 26.11 runs per wicket in those matches—making them not just a strong team, but a historically dominant bowling unit by any metric.

Ravi Shastri, who served as Team India’s head coach for much of this era, once famously summed up the team’s mindset, “Our aim was to take the pitch out of the equation. You have to take 20 wickets—whether it’s Johannesburg, Mumbai, Delhi, Auckland, or even Melbourne, where we won [against Australia]. How do you do that? You need fast bowlers, spinners, a complete bowling unit.”

Pace revolution under Kohli made India consistent overseas

Shastri was spot on. Kohli didn’t just want to win at home. He wanted to conquer the world—and he knew that for that, fast bowlers were non-negotiable.

There were disappointments, too. Kohli’s India couldn’t win a Test series in England, South Africa and New Zealand. But rarely did the fast bowlers let the team down. More often than not, it was the batting that faltered. Yet, thanks to the quality and depth of the pace battery, India stayed competitive in virtually every Test, home or away.

Perhaps the most stirring example of Kohli’s faith in his fast men came during the 2021 Lord’s Test. England were pushing for a draw when India’s bowlers, fired up by Kohli’s on-field backing and off-field energy, launched an all-out assault. Bumrah and Shami added crucial runs with the bat in a feisty morning session, then came out and blew England away in two unforgettable sessions. It was vintage Kohli — relentless, fearless, and uncompromising.

Even when he wasn’t the captain anymore, the culture he built endured. In Australia in 2020–21, India’s third-string attack led by Siraj pulled off an astonishing series win at the Gabba. That belief, that fire, that resilience—it had Kohli’s fingerprints all over it.

Kohli may have hung up his whites, but his fast-bowling legacy is anything but done. The generation he mentored, the values he instilled and the attitude he demanded will live on. No longer do Indian fans fear green tops abroad. They look forward to them. Because they know—India now brings the heat. And even the opponents are aware of it.

For that, the cricketing world will forever remember the man who turned India’s pace dreams into a roaring, thundering reality.